Young Hollywood 2008

**Luke Grimes **Working at a Los Angeles movie theater wasn't exactly what the actor had in mind when he left Ohio at eighteen to study acting. "I finally just quit," he says. "I booked my first movie less than a month later." This fall, the 24-year-old appears in the thriller , "a story of love, mess-ups, and forgiveness," opposite Charlize Theron. "But my goal," she says, "is to be an actor-writer-director. I want to do it all." —Lauren Waterman

**Selena Gomez **This sweet sixteen-year-old may be dubbed the next Miley Cyrus, but she takes her cues from a slightly older ex-sitcom star. "I love . —L.W.

**Elle Fanning **Her earliest gig may have been playing a younger version of big sister Dakota's character in alongside Brad Pitt, in which she plays a younger version of ... Cate Blanchett's character. "I got to wear a long, red wig," she reports excitedly, "and vintage clothes. I loved it!" —L.W.

**Michael Steger **A tae kwon do black belt, the 24-year-old first became interested in acting while watching martial-arts films. Now he's playing . Sunny California is taking some getting used to as well: "I'm from a town called Yellowknife, in Canada's Northwest Territories"—not too far from the Arctic Circle, in fact—"and it's really cold. So I come down here and I'm always hot!" He needn't worry, though: It seems unlikely that any new fans will hold his hotness against him. —L.W.

**Johnny Simmons **Alabama-born, Texas-raised Johnny was just five when he wanted to be an actor. So he mowed lawns to pay for head shots, which he then sent to L.A.-based casting directors; when one wrote back explaining the fundamentals of the business, Johnny realized that "there wasn't going to be a limo that just pulled up and discovered me." Now 21, he'll star with Emma Roberts in January's . "I play Chip," he says. "He's that guy, kind of like me, who maybe doesn't get a ton of girls in high school, but will someday. I mean, hopefully," he adds. "I'm still waiting." —L.W.

**Haley Bennett **Ask her about . "I have blue hair, which is awesome," says the natural blonde. "I always say that my alter ego is this punk-rock chick with tattoos ... everything that I'm not and wish I could be." —L.W.

**Mia Wasikowska **Cate, Nicole, Russell—and now Mia. As the newest rider on the Australian fame train, this eighteen-year-old is in good company. Just four years after she started acting, Mia has already starred in HBO's intense series . Still, Mia has managed to keep things in perspective. "There's the kind of fame where people follow you around on the street and talk about your bum," she explains. "And then there's the kind where you're known for your work. I prefer the latter." –DANIELLE NUSSBAUM

**Kimberley Nixon **This 23-year-old doesn't need to worry about getting typecast. In the coming months, her roles range from Emma Roberts's new best friend in the "boarding school film" . It may seem overwhelming, but she can't get enough—the Welsh actress spends the little free time she has at the cinema: "I love having popcorn and just sitting in the dark. It's the best form of escape." —LINDSAY TALBOT

**Olly Alexander **This eighteen-year-old Brit looks a little like Tim Burton ("I could play him in a film," Olly says. "I've got the hair for it"), so it's fitting that his roles tend toward the eclectic. "That's my card: being a bit mad and crazy onscreen. I like weird characters who have some kind of story to tell," he says. Olly's story so far has been short but sweet. He began his career at seventeen and has worked steadily ever since. This year alone he's filming four projects: Jane Campion's biopic of John Keats, . With heroes like Burton, Gus Van Sant, and Sofia Coppola, it's clear that Olly has a specific path in mind. "I'd love to go down the indie route," he says. "Because those are the films I love to watch." –D.N.

**Kaya Scodelario **Kaya's life reads like a Hollywood script: A sixteen-year-old Londoner is cast in an unknown TV show after attending an open call, and her life is forever changed. "I hadn't done much acting," she says of things prior to signing onto the hit U.K. series ; not everyone is beautiful and rich," she explains. "It'll be great to see what Americans will think of England afterwards—they'll probably be scared off." —ANDREW BEVAN

**Matthew Beard **He started acting professionally at the tender age of four, but Matthew never counted on such good luck: "I sort of figured that I would eventually have to get a proper job." Instead, he was cast in the acclaimed British film as "a slightly geeky boy, the sort who tucks his trousers into his socks when he's on his bicycle." Matthew's headed to university this month, but he says he's eager to keep working. "Acting is the only thing I've ever done that I really loved," he explains. —L.W.

**Eleanor Tomlinson **"It's awkward standing next to the person you're about to snog before the director says 'action,'" says the budding English ingenue, giggling. Eleanor is talking about her latest, aptly-titled project, —one of Eleanor's favorite stateside flicks. When asked if she has a boyfriend, the sixteen-year-old responds, "I'm single—you have more fun!" Eleanor, who grew up in a family of actors, already has her plate full as she returns to high school this fall, auditioning and reading scripts in between study sessions. —A.B.

**Harry Treadaway **"I got my start playing a daffodil in the local pantomime at age three," the now 24-year-old actor recalls, wistfully. "I've come a long way since." It's true: He and his identical twin, Luke, played conjoined rock star siblings in 2005's recently made her the youngest writer to debut in London's West End in 42 years. A collaboration may be in the works: "I plan to act in one of her productions... if she'll let me!"—L.T.

**Juliette Lamboley **"Liz Taylor for her talent, Marilyn Monroe for her boldness, and Audrey Hepburn for her delicacy," Juliette rattles off as her screen idols. Shortly thereafter, she mentions Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Billie Holiday as favorite musicians. She may be only eighteen years old, but Juliette has sophisticated taste to accompany her lofty ambitions. In October, she'll act alongside French screen legend Catherine Deneuve in the foreign flick , and this Parisienne is already poised to hop the pond: "I have some nice propositions for American films," she says, adding that she'd continue to do French movies. "If I can do both, I'll be the happiest Juliette in the world!" —Jackie Randell